Getting Rid of the Green Guilt

Maybe it’s supposed to be green with envy, but I think a lot of us are green with guilt…You know we’ve gone a little bit green in our lifestyles but we feel like we should do more and we feel bad about it.

Tell ya what- lets let go of the guilt and instead focus on the steps towards green living that we can do successfully.

I am SO not perfect in this are. I find that I tend to leap into an idea only to find that it’s not sustainable unless I take smaller steps. For instance:

Green Cleaning-

Cleaning Plan: I’ll only use vinegar!

• Reality: My husband hates, dislikes, and really is opposed to the smell of vinegar. My husband is NOT opposed to cleaning the bathroom *unless* he has to do it with vinegar.
• Smaller Green Step: I purchased some 7th Generation bathroom cleaner and said “Thank you SO much for cleaning the bathroom (I do have a little sanity left after all these years of interrupted sleep.)

Laundry Plan: I’ll use SOAP nuts!

• Reality: I order soap nuts. I receive soap nuts. I wonder what in the world to do with them. They sit in a bag on top of my washing machine (I will research better and figure them out one day…)
• Smaller Green Step: I found Charlie’s Soap- it works like regular laundry soap, works in my front loader, has no scents or nasty chemicals. I can do my laundry and not worry about nasties clinging to my clothes afterwards.

Shampoo Plan: I will not use shampoo! I will only use baking soda and vinegar (There’s a nickname for this which is “no-poo” I think it’s kind of a gross nickname, but anyway you can Google it…(You see where this is going from the above “cleaning with vinegar” issue, yes?

• Reality: My kids take after my husband. They will not let me near them with vinegar- apple cider or otherwise.
• Smaller Green Step: I seek out a natural shampoo. There are some nice ones at the health food store, but they’re pricey! I am contacted by Johnson’s Naturals to do a review and learn I can buy it at the regular grocery store, it’s affordable and I feel like this is a green step I can take.  They have a good FAQ page about their ingredients that you can take a look at. (I wish they were unscented, even if the scent is your ALLERfree formula, in case you’re reading Johnson’s )

So, just a few examples.   We have so much better things to do with ourselves than feeling guilty.  We all have certain things we do better than others, and we’re all at different life stages.  Keep learning about what you can do and then make small sustainable steps and they’ll start to add up to a greener lifestyle for your family.